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COAL ITION SOF

by Dan Tharp May 30, 2020 MO S T R E AD

2,000 National
Guard Soldiers
1 Sworn in As
Special Deputy
U.S. Marshals

The Best Combat

2 Boots According
to Special
Operators

Soldier Charged

3 with Conspiring
wIth ISIS to Attack
US Troops

Will Women Be

4 Drafted Under
General Lloyd
Austin?

Just about every

nation has secret
5 missile platforms
hidden in shipping
containers

The men of the Malayan Scouts returned as Heroes to their Native Rhodesia. Filled with
experience and the haggard look of men hardened by battle, they were promptly deactivated.
Rhodesia relied mainly on the Rhodesian African Rifles, the Native Regiment led by white RE C ENT COM ME N TS
officers and Territorials or Reservists for their standing Army. Like many Armies around the
Christopher T.
world, Special Operations was still not considered useful to maintain during peacetime due to He never went to an ANP station when
costs and time restraints. he deserted

Soldier Charged with Conspiring wIth ISIS

The De-Colonization of Africa was still blazing across the Continent. Portugal was losing control
to Attack US Troops  · 58 minutes ago
in Angola and Mozambique. The nature of that guerilla war gave birth to the Flecha, a
counterinsurgency (COIN) unit trying to put down a rebellion in Portugal’s cash cows. The winds
of change cycloned around Rhodesia and the debris began to fall into its borders.

Counter-Terrorist enforcement fell largely to the British South African Police who operated
inside Rhodesia’s borders. Their fundamental training was that of Policing work, not of the
Infantry or a Special Forces Soldier. Military Planners began to look ahead and revived the idea
of raising a full time SAS unit that would be able to battle Terrorist actions and fight fire with
fire.
Before 1964 there was a Northern Rhodesia and a Southern Rhodesia which formed the Mark T.
Written like a true communist, are you
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1959, the African National Congress began to
een hn the USA ?
coalesce and engaged in a campaign of physical intimidation and protests. Still under British
FBI Bulletin Warns that Trump Supporters
supervision, a commission was sent to Rhodesia to give advice. ANC leaders were jailed, cells
Are Planning 'Armed Protests' at the US
broken up, and Britain recommended that the Federation be dismantled to appease and quell
Capitol and All 50 State Capitols Leading
the violence. Hardline Rhodesian Nationalists were not willing to do so and decided in favor of up to Biden's Inauguration | SOFREP  · 5
building a better and more ready Army. hours ago

The raising of the First Battalion of the Rhodesian Light Infantry came to pass in 1961 along
William H.
with an Armored car squadron named the Selous Scouts (the name would later be passed onto In this case, I agree. He was a full-
another legendary group ) and a Parachute Detachment to become the Rhodesian SAS. blown Young Learner of ISIS when he...

Soldier Charged with Conspiring wIth ISIS

to Attack US Troops  · 8 hours ago
The training of the SAS Regiment began with the Parachute Evaluation Detachment. An officer
from the RAF arrived and began forming a cadre. Initial training was focused on physical fitness.
After the volunteers were brought up to standard, Parachute training commenced. Several of Join SOFREP Team Room
the volunteers went to Britain to qualify as Parachute Instructors and six outstanding and for Insider Access and
Malayan experienced Rhodesian officers and NCO’s were to undergo SAS training in Hereford, Analysis
Soldier Charged with Co
England. Your
to Attack USSubscription
Troops Supports
our Veteran Staff
They had little idea what to expect out of the exchange course and decided to commence
training on their own to prepare them for the rigors ahead. Daily PT and ruck marches over the
S UBS C RIBE N OW
most inhospitable terrain were the prescription. They arrived in Britain more than prepared
physically but were greeted with some disdain by 22 SAS. Even though a formal training
exchange had taken place, the 22 were interested in their own business. Nevertheless, the
Rhodesians made themselves available and persistent, taking every opportunity they could find
to get the knowledge they had come for. They were able to take part in another exchange the
British had with the Danish. War Games were played in quarantined areas where the population
was involved much to the enjoyment of the Rhodesians.

Read Next: Africa Lost Chapter 3: The

Rhodesian SAS Part 2
Their three months came to an end with some time at the Rhodesia House in London, trying to
recruit men to join the Army in Rhodesia. Upon their return, they began developing firm plans
on the TO/E of the organization. It was to be six Sabre Squadrons of 17 men each with a total of
182 men to fill the ranks. It was a tall order and much of it would be morphed to fit the African
continent.

The location would prove to be a troublesome issue in the future but for now, Ndola in
Northern Rhodesia was to be the home of the SAS. In some ways, the remote location allowed
the men to train without distraction but the morale plummeted as there was nowhere for the
men to enjoy their off-hours. High strung men training to a razor’s edge for combat combined
with boredom caused trouble in the ranks.

In spite of the political decision to station the SAS in the North, the OIC’s began recruiting and
formulating a selection plan. Based on the principles learned in Hereford, they decided that
their SAS selection course would consist of man versus the toughest terrain that they could
find. Selection was mainly held in the Matopos mountain range, a geographical oddity
consisting of rocky hills and outcrops and wooded valleys.

Every recruit would be pressed to his limits. They were constantly encouraged to quit, forced
into situations that quitting would easily solve their problems of the moment. Outrageous
endurance marches were routine. As a consequence, the failure rate was extremely high. So
much, that they re-evaluated what they were doing. The British would only consider men 23
years of age or older and 3 years’ service with a regular Army unit. The Rhodesians had such a
small army that they were forced to allow 17-18-year-olds to try out in hopes of upping the
numbers. Not much changed after evaluation and they continued the torturous training.

Much like the Navy SEALs’ Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course, the Selection determined
the physical and mental suitability before any combat training was given. Once off of Selection
they were then sent on for basic military skills of the SAS trooper. Navigation, First Aid,
Weapons, Demolition, Unarmed Combat, etc. The next part of their training was the Parachute
course. After earning their jump wings, the final test was the ‘All in’ Exercise where troopers
were put through a mission that required them to successfully employ all the skills that they
had learned. Once passed, they were able to don the sand-colored beret, SAS jump wings, and
the blue Stable belt.

Training never ended, like all other Special Forces Units. Every Squadron sent men all over the
country for training in various skills to complete the Unit’s in-house capability. In 1962, the U.K.
and Rhodesia entered into an agreement for a Sabre to attach themselves to the British for
exercises in the Arabian Peninsula. This was a risky endeavor with some of the men having won
their beret weeks before. It proved to be a positive experience and a huge confidence builder
as they operated alongside the seasoned Brits. Their navigation skills were honed even beyond
what the African continent could throw at them.

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and Britain were at loggerheads and knee-deep in
politics. Literally surrounded by violent African Nationalism that was inspired and supported by
China, the Soviet Union, and Cuba, Britain wanted to keep the peace in Rhodesia. It was
decided that the Federation would split apart. The British gave independence to Northern
Rhodesia which became Zambia and Nyasaland became Mali. However, Southern Rhodesia was
still under British Rule.

This presented a severe problem to the

SAS, headquartered in Northern
Rhodesia. As with the land, the Federal
Army was carved up too. Southern
Rhodesia inherited the Air Force and the
RLI. It was clear that Northern Rhodesia
had no need for a highly selective, all-
white unit. The soldiers themselves were
allowed to decide what they wanted to
Read Next: The Rhodesian SAS: Covert do. They could stay with the men of the
Northern Rhodesia Regiment who were
 external operations making attractive offers to these
specially trained soldiers, take a golden
handshake, or head south to the army
there. The problem for the SAS soldier who went South was that there was little to no bonus
offered, nor a guarantee that there would even be a SAS for them. This was difficult due to the
fact that most of the SAS had come directly into an elite unit and few had the mind to make the
military a career. It was SAS or nothing.

Many of the young men, not seeing the future wildfire on the horizon, chose to make some
money by staying on in the north. In the end, only 31 SAS troops moved to Southern Rhodesia.
In spite of this sudden land mine set off in the midst of building an elite unit, the groundwork
had been laid once again for Southern Rhodesia to ‘Turn to’ the world and begin a battle for its
literal life.

D.R. Tharp is the author of Highway to hell to and The Gold of Katanga.

M ORE F ROM SOF RE P

Fire Force: Rhodesia’s COIN Fire Force: Rhodesia’s COIN

Killing Machine (Part 1) Killing Machine (Part 2)

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